Washington DOT covets Florida high-speed rail money

(The following appeared on the Seattle Times website on February 16, 2011.)

SEATTLE, Wash. — Four decades ago, voters in Seattle narrowly turned down a rapid-transit plan in the 1970 election, prompting the federal government to shift $900 million in rail funds to Atlanta, to launch its MARTA network.

This time, it's Washington state that hankers to spend rail money earmarked for the South.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday decided to reject $2.4 billion in federal stimulus aid for an Orlando-to-Tampa rail route. Soon afterward, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire reiterated that if other states don't want federal dollars for passenger rail, Washington would be glad to take them.